Nature is good for me because it shows me a different, more expansive side of life that people too often do not expose themselves to in the cubicles of their minds' eye, from the limited contours of the concrete jungle.
It took half an hour to hike the round trip mile on The Old Mine Trail in Mt. Tamalpais State Park. Red, golden, brown, plus also green leaves fasten on the same tree, reminiscent of time ago and times to come. Summer is lingering, yet departing for a while...deer bound up the hill away, yet pause for moments, inquisitive at this venturing human. Tall trees with medium-sized trunks are growing at gravitationally improbable angles and merging, 100 feet in the air. I hear a crow cackling in the ravine that sounds like a woman's laughter, but there is no woman to be found below. I do several spiraling sun salutations and initiate more outspoken displays of athletic prominence. I cross three empty bridges.
The forest makes one contemplative by awakening the senses and quest for purpose. Forging forth, I am immersed in a suitably spacious and insulated forum to ponder circumstances within my life that too often are swept under awareness’ radar.
I had ingested coffees and tea previously, which intensified the awareness of my excursion from civilization. A man comes across the path towards me near the end of the trail. I scurry up a difficult-to-balance, yet shallow escalation to escape our encounter. My slightly frazzled mind is not ready to depart from solitude with hoped-for serenity.
I am in the unknown, alone, just how I want to be. In unperturbed nature, I:
1) Rejuvenate.
2) Clear my mind.
3) Prompt new thinking.
4) De-stress, minus the caffeine.
5) Am offered a less myopic outlook that is all the richer with natural decadence of thousands of trees.
6) Intuit and intellectualize that there is a force that is greater than me, and I am reminded that I am still an integral part of this collective energy.
7) Sometimes experience greater peacefulness.
8) Feel positive, even when my improper hiking shoes slide towards the precipice of the narrow trail!
One can hike, backpack, or camp out in nature, climate and safety permitting. Just bring a beanie, sunscreen, water, jacket, and plenty of trail mix! Google a list of national and state parks in your area. Even escaping for 30 minutes to a local park can transform a formerly "stuck" mindset into the infinitely more promising. In short, time spent in nature offers the mind freedom and avails ourselves to the majesty of human potential amongst the trees, clouds, mountains, seas, and starlight!
